Honoring America’s Grandparents
**** This is an update of a previous blog post **** As we celebrate Grandparents Day 2022, we recognize seniors as
Over the Counter Hearing Aids Could Be a Winner for Seniors
On August 16th, the Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule establishing a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. This will allow people with 'mild to moderate' hearing loss to buy hearing aids directly from stores or online retailers. Consumers will not need an exam, prescription or a fitting by an audiologist.
Finally, Some Accountability for Medicare Advantage Ads
Medicare Advantage (MA) plans – the privatized alternative to traditional Medicare – are coming under growing scrutiny for a number of questionable practices that undermine patient care and overcharge taxpayers.
Now Is Not the Time to Turn Our Backs on Seniors
“Now is not the time to turn our backs on seniors by cutting Social Security and Medicare!” declared Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi
NCPSSM President and House Members Team-Up to Tout New Prescription Drug Pricing Measures
NCPSSM President and CEO Max Richtman joined two Pennsylvania congressmen in announcing that seniors will benefit from the just-enacted Inflation Reduction Act. Richtman appeared last week at Circle Pharmacy in Philadelphia with representatives Brendan Boyle (D-PA) and Dwight Evans (D-PA).
House Passes Historic Prescription Drug Pricing Legislation
The U.S. House today passed historic legislation to bring down prescription drug prices for tens of millions of American seniors. The Inflation Reduction Act, which the Senate passed last weekend after intense negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, now goes to President Biden's desk for signature. It is the most sweeping health care legislation since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
Prescription Drug Price Reform of Historic Proportions
Those who refer to the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the Senate this past weekend as “historic” are not exaggerating. The Act represents the most muscular legislation to date to try to tame rising prescription drug prices, which can be devastating for seniors.
Ron Johnson’s Plan is Part of GOP Assault on Seniors’ Earned Benefits
Social Security and Medicare defenders often say that the public doesn’t understand the threat that Republicans pose to these programs. Indeed, many Republicans proclaim support for both while pushing proposals to undermine them. But lately it seems as if Republicans are going out of their way to lay bare their intentions – or, as some put it, “to say the quiet part out loud.” Earlier this week, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) said during an interview that Social Security and Medicare should no longer be mandatory spending programs
Much for Seniors to Cheer, Big Pharma to Jeer, in Senate Rx Deal
News of a deal between Senators Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer for a broader reconciliation package including climate, inflation, and prescription
Manchin Pulls the Football Away from Schumer – and Medicare
Senator Joe Manchin has once again pulled the proverbial football away from Chuck Schumer just before the kick. After negotiating with the Senate Majority Leader over a pared-back version of the Build Back Better bill, Sen. Manchin has once again withdrawn his support - not for the entire plan, but for key components that would have helped seniors. He declared on Thursday that he would not support any new tax provisions. One of these provisions would have closed a loophole, compelling the wealthy to pay a 3.8% investment tax. The revenue would have been directed to the Medicare Part A trust fund, which is currently projected to run dry in 2028.